Analyzing Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) & Royale Energy (OTCMKTS:ROYL)

Royale Energy (OTCMKTS:ROYL) and Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Royale Energy and Helmerich & Payne’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Royale Energy	-133.58%	N/A	N/A
Helmerich & Payne	7.15%	8.25%	4.16%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Royale Energy and Helmerich & Payne, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Royale Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00
Helmerich & Payne	2	9	1	0	1.92

Helmerich & Payne has a consensus target price of $23.10, suggesting a potential upside of 47.51%. Given Helmerich & Payne’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Helmerich & Payne is more favorable than Royale Energy.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Royale Energy and Helmerich & Payne”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Royale Energy	$2.23 million	1.68	-$3.49 million	($0.04)	-0.97
Helmerich & Payne	$2.76 billion	0.56	$344.17 million	$2.19	7.15

Helmerich & Payne has higher revenue and earnings than Royale Energy. Royale Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Helmerich & Payne, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.1% of Helmerich & Payne shares are held by institutional investors. 61.8% of Royale Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of Helmerich & Payne shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Royale Energy has a beta of -0.66, meaning that its stock price is 166% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Helmerich & Payne has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Helmerich & Payne beats Royale Energy on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Royale Energy

Royale Energy, Inc. acquires, explores for, develops, produces, and sells oil and natural gas properties in the United States. Its principal operations are located in the Sacramento Basin and San Joaquin Basin in California, as well as in Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Colorado. Royale Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is based in El Cajon, California.

About Helmerich & Payne

Founded in 1920, Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (H&P) (NYSE: HP) is committed to delivering industry leading levels of drilling productivity and reliability. H&P operates with the highest level of integrity, safety and innovation to deliver superior results for its customers and returns for shareholders. Through its subsidiaries, the Company designs, fabricates and operates high-performance drilling rigs in conventional and unconventional plays around the world. H&P also develops and implements advanced automation, directional drilling and survey management technologies. H&P’s fleet includes 299 land rigs in the U.S., 31 international land rigs and eight offshore platform rigs.